Did You See This?

Dawn and Ceres

Remarkable pictures from a dwarf planet.

This video is essentially a slide show—a spectacular slide show, that is—of photos sent back to Earth by NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft. Dawn, launched in 2007, has been taking pictures of dwarf planet Ceres.

Ceres—which, on Jan. 1, 1801, became the first minor planet discovered—resides in our solar system’s main asteroid belt, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Prior to its Ceres visit, Dawn spent a year photographing a “proto-planet” in the asteroid belt Vesta.

The not-quite-spherical Ceres is about as big as Texas. It’s thought to be dense at the core, with lighter materials close to its surface. Scientists suspect there’s water ice under the crust, as Ceres’ density is less than our own planet’s, and spectral evidence of water-bearing minerals has been spotted on its surface. If Ceres is made of anything more than 25 percent water, that would be more than all of the fresh water we have on Earth.

Dawn’s pictures have yielded lots of treats for scientists, including a look at Ahuna Mons, the highest mountain on Ceres. There are also a series of surprisingly bright craters, including the Occator crater, the brightest object on the planet. One of the great things about Dawn’s pictures is the incredible degree of detail you see when you zoom in.

For now, Dawn remains in orbit around Ceres. As of March 22, it shifted its position a little from a straight-on view to one that looks slightly leftward to provide a different visual perspective and to preserve its dwindling supply of propellant hydrazine.